The NCAA says it doesn’t count. In official record books at the University of Minnesota and the Big Ten, the Gopher’s 1996-97 basketball run to the top of the league and eventually to the Final Four was washed away in an academic scandal.
It was 25 years ago today that the Gophers advanced to their only Final Four (that doesn’t count) in Indianapolis. As the great Ray Christensen said on WCCO Radio after beating UCLA, “The road to Indianapolis is paved with gold!”
John Thomas was a captain on that Gopher Team. Thomas, a senior in 1997, was the hometown kid and came from Minneapolis Roosevelt. After a career in the NBA, Thomas now works for the Timberwolves and Lynx as Vice President of Community Engagement. Thomas says every year he looks back on that season.
“Every time this year it certainly is brought up,” Thomas told WCCO’s Adam Carter. “The public doesn't necessarily let us forget it. Not that I want to. The other side of it is, just when I think about the memories, and you hear Ray Christensen's voice, it does take you back. So wow, 25 years. It's been a long time for sure.”
Thomas explains that the team had a certain toughness and had intangibles that made them successful.
“We were a close knit group,” Thomas said. “We were tough and gritty. We had this resolve about us that ultimately started in practice. Our practices were sometimes a lot harder than the opponents that we ever faced and that was really a credit to (head coach) Clem Haskins and the coaching staff as a whole, that really set that up for us. But the thing on the other side of that too is that we genuinely cared about each other and we played with passion and conviction.”
The magic of that run was erased however.
In 1999, it was revealed that Minnesota academic counseling office manager Jan Gangelhoff had done coursework for at least 20 Minnesota basketball players since 1993. Four players from the Minnesota basketball team were immediately suspended, pending an investigation for academic fraud. Head coach Clem Haskins, men's athletic director Mark Dienhart, and university vice president McKinley Boston all resigned. The NCAA sanctioned Minnesota by vacating all appearances in the 1994, 1995, and 1997 NCAA Tournaments and 1996 and 1998 National Invitation Tournaments. The Gophers were also stripped of their Big Ten title.
What can’t be erased is the memory of the players and fans of that 1997 Gopher Basketball team, which Thomas says they will always hold on to.
“It takes nothing away from what was accomplished because I actually live it,” Thomas told WCCO. “I lived it. We're talking about it today. I've got certainly the physical memorabilia to prove it. I don't need a banner hanging inside of an arena to hold onto the memories that are my own.”
Thomas, who says he tries to stay in contact with many members of that Gopher team, says that beyond the individual accolades and what happened with the NCAA, he wants to make sure head coach Clem Haskins gets the credit he deserves for leading that group to success.
“It doesn't take away from the time that I had individually and certainly my connection, and our team’s connection,” Thomas explains. “I think more than anything, we just appreciate who coach Haskins was and meant to all of us and more than anything just want his just do. It's less about me individually.”
The Gophers went 31-4 and 16-2 in the Big Ten. They marched through the NCAA Tournament with easy wins over SW Texas State and Temple, survived a harrowing and classic double overtime game against Clemson in the Sweet Sixteen, and then knocked off UCLA in the Elite Eight to punch their first-ever ticket to the Final Four.
The run ended there as Kentucky held off the Gophers in the National Semifinals. In the official record books, the Gophers went winless in 1996-97.
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